In a statement to an emergency meeting of the House of Commons, he said: "The policy of containment is not working. The WMD programme is not shut down. It is up and running."

"The threat posed to international peace and security, when WMD (weapons of mass destruction) are in the hands of a brutal and aggressive regime like Saddam's, is real. Unless we face up to the threat, not only do we risk undermining the authority of the U.N., whose resolutions he defies, but more importantly and in the longer term, we place at risk the lives and prosperity of our own people."

"To all intents and purposes, the report is not intended to clarify the situation or present new facts; instead, it is part of the Prime Minister's strategy to persuade his people and his government colleagues that Britain should go to war in the Middle East, alongside the United States."